Ruling on the Profession: Interior Design in the Courts

Abstract

This paper uses the legal story of an interior design practitioner, Florence Karasik, as a basis for a broader discussion of the professionalization of interior design. The Karasik case will demonstrate three things: (1) that law, which is largely neglected in histories of professionalism, is an important barometer for shifting opinions about what it means to be a profession; (2) that everyday people, like Florence Karasik, had their own, popular conceptions of interior design as a profession; and (3) that popular and legal conceptions of the professionalization of interior design did not always align. The Karasik case, which disclosed a dynamic legal and popular conversation about what it meant to be a professional interior designer, highlights the increasingly decisive role the state would play in the second half of the twentieth century in determining the professional status of interior design.

(Hi)stories and the Future

“…Likewise, through a detailed case study analysis, Erin Cunningham pieces together the legal turmoil of an individual designer to clarify the state's “increasingly decisive role in determining the professional status of interior design” in the United States (Cunningham, , p. 25). How might this story encourage the consideration of a future scenario that depicts design professions that have merged or lost their discreet identities?…”

Perceptions of professional titles: A mixed methods study of interior design vs. interior architecture

“…Data from this research has also shown that participants understand the importance of clear definitions in the process of professionalization, as stated by many as the important step in formalizing the profession (Belis et al, 2014;Cunningham, 2015;Dawkins, 2014;Dickson & White, 1997;Dickson & White, 1994;Guerin & Martin, 2004;Havenhand, 2004;Martin, 1999;Puzzuoli, 2003;Wheeler, 1895;White, 2009;Whitney, 2008). However, it is also clear that participants themselves were unsure of the definitions of the professions.…”

“…Florence Karasik was a professional interior designer practicing out of her home in Rumson, New Jersey. She had been running her business out of her home for three years before she was barred from practicing by building inspector Joseph Ciejka with a zoning ordinance claiming her business was not a profession (Cunningham, 2015). She took the cause to court, and the judge agreed that her business was not professional based on her advertising herself as an interior decorator within the telephone directory (the only descriptor available for her to use), and the fact that she conducted sales making her not a professional but a businesswoman, and businesses…”

“…The profession must unite to create a common language between all practitioners so that legislation can be brought forth and the profession strengthened. Interior design must be unified under one title so that the profession may address the gendering of the profession and work to dismantle the power dynamic between the profession and architecture (Cunningham, 2015;Dawkins, 2014; Ann W. Havenhand, 2004;Puzzuoli, 2003;Whitney, 2008a). Once the power structure is dismantled, interior design may be able to take more legislative action and gain the prestige associated with architecture.…”

“…This pushback on legislation has required the profession to understand how to better professionalize, and one such issue stands out as cited by numerous authors: unifying and defining the profession (Belis, Pombo, & Heynen, 2014;Cunningham, 2015;Dawkins, 2014;Dickson & White, 1997;Dickson & White, 1994;Guerin & Martin, 2004;Havenhand, 2004;Martin, 1999;Puzzuoli, 2003;Wheeler, 1895;White, 2009;Whitney, 2008a) This partly arises because of the public confusion over titles. Interior Decoration has already been mentioned as the first title applied to the profession.…”